Excerpt from History of Independent Royal Arch Lodge, F.& A M. Of the State of New York
It may not be out of place at the outset of this history of Independent Royal Arch Lodge No. 2, to call attention, briefly, to the origin of the great fraternity of which it has formed a constituent part for nearly a century and a half, and to say a few words respecting the source from which it derives its authority to work.
The uncertainty that surrounds the beginning of Freemasonry adds a charm to the study of its history. As one looking for a hidden treasure, every student of Freemasonry is encouraged to hope that he may discover and bring to light what those who have preceded him have overlooked or sought for in vain. There is so much of legend and tradition in the story of the institution that it is difficult to separate the true from the merely fanciful. Imagination has played an important part among writers on the origin of Freemasonry. Some have laid its foundation at the creation of the world. Others trace its beginning to different periods of the world's history. William Preston, a noted Masonic writer of the latter part of the eighteenth century, says: "From the commencement of the world we may trace the foundation of Masonry. Ever since symmetry began and harmony displayed her charms, our Order has had a being." Dr. George Oliver goes even beyond the creation and proclaims: "Our system existed before the creation of the globe, and was diffused amidst the numerous systems with which the grand empyreum of universal space is furnished." Rev. James Anderson, one of the founders of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717, claimed that the origin of Freemasonry was in the Garden of Eden. Some have fixed it at the time of Noah, others at the building of King Solomon's Temple, the Crusades, the Schools of Philosophy of the middle ages, etc., etc.
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